CSCX 19.10 Euro 94.03 (Buy) 94.07 (Sell) - EBL Securities€¦ · He cited the Pran-RFL Group as a case in point. ... The USDA's report comes at a time when the prices of coarse rice,

Daily News Flash, 24th July, 2017

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INDIA BRINGS NO CHEER TO GARMENT EXPORTERS ......................................................... 1

BANKS SUSCEPTIBLE TO CYBER THREATS: ANALYSTS ......................................................... 2

MILLERS, WHOLESALERS TO BLAME FOR RICE PRICE SPIRAL: USDA ................................... 3

FARM-SECTOR NPLS SWELL BY TK 11.16B IN FY 17 ........................................................... 4

DSE TURNOVER HITS ONE-MONTH LOW ........................................................................... 5

IFAD LEADS TURNOVER CHART ......................................................................................... 6

TWO COS IPO SUBSCRIPTION NEXT MONTH .................................................................... 7

INVESTORS FOR QUICK PROFIT BOOKING ......................................................................... 8

DESHBANDHU TEXTILE TO SET UP RMG INDUSTRY IN UEPZ ............................................... 9

BJMC INCURS TK 482CR LOSSES IN FY17 ........................................................................... 9

ORGS RELATED TO INTL TRADE FACE HUGE MANPOWER SHORTAGE ................................ 9

BB HIKES HOME LOAN LIMIT FOR NRBS .......................................................................... 10

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INDIA BRINGS NO CHEER TO GARMENT EXPORTERS Garment exports to India declined in fiscal 2016-17 thanks to 12.5 percent countervailing duty by the neighbour, which negates the benefit of duty-free access, and the emergence of its own apparel manufacturing industry. Last fiscal year, garment shipments to India, a market of more than $40 billion, fetched $129.81 million, down 4.85 percent year-on-year. The development is in contrast to expectations: exports were supposed to increase manifold for geographical proximity, Bangladesh's competitive advantage in this field and India's burgeoning middle-class. We have a very good market in India, but we cannot utilise the potential due to price competitiveness, said Mohammad Hasan, executive director of Babylon Group, a leading garment group. Babylon Group sent garment products worth $1.67 million in 2015 and $1.6 million in 2016. The number this year will be lower, he said. Export of garment from Bangladesh is not increasing as the Indian manufacturers are also producing the same clothes at cheaper rates.

DSEX 06.90 Gold (Ounce) $1,255.00 Dollar 80.64 (Buy) 80.64 (Sell)

CSCX 19.10 Oil (Barrel) $45.60 Euro 94.03 (Buy) 94.07 (Sell)


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Plus, the Indian importers are not interested in bringing in garment items from Bangladesh for the 12.5 percent countervailing duty (CVD), an import tax imposed on certain goods in order to prevent dumping or counter export subsidies. It is my observation that if we can utilise the giant Indian and Chinese markets, our garment exports will boom, Hasan added. Apart from CVD, the Indian government has been subsidising its garment makers, said Faruque Hassan, vice-president of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association. So determined the Indian government is in seeing its garment sector thrive on the global stage that it changed an old law. Previously, the Indian government did not allow the big industrial groups to invest in the garment manufacturing industry, which it changed a few years ago. The big industrial groups no longer need to restrict their investment to the backward industries like textile, chemicals, printing, dyeing, weaving, spinning and finishing; they can also set up garment manufacturing factories, Hassan said. As a result, the Indian garment sector has been growing in stature every year and its market share worldwide is also increasing. However, we should not look to India as our competitor as we also import a lot of raw materials like cotton, chemical products, fabrics and yarn from them for our garment sector, Hassan added. Bangladesh imports goods worth more than $6 billion from India in a year through the formal channels, about $2 billion of which is cotton. More than 50 percent of Bangladesh's cotton requirement in a year is met by imports from India. Abdul Matlub Ahmad, the immediate past president of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry and a former president of the India-Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry, urged the Export Promotion Bureau to open a separate cell for the Indian market. The cell will research the reasons for the floundering exports to India. By this time, Bangladesh's export to India should have crossed the $1 billion mark. But, still we cannot cross this mark despite having the potential. Ahmad said both Bangladesh and India are strong in the production of the same kinds of goods like garment. So the demand for Bangladeshi goods in India is low. We should find out goods in which India is not strong. We should produce those and export to India. He cited the Pran-RFL Group as a case in point. The Bangladeshi company has found a huge market in India for its agro-based and processed food items. Actually, neither the public nor the private sector is serious about the Indian market, he added. Not only garments, but the overall export to India also declined in fiscal 2016-17 to $672.40 million, according to data from the EPB. On the other hand, imports from India have been swelling every year. Source: http://www.thedailystar.net/business/india-brings-no-cheer-garment-exporters-1437682

BANKS SUSCEPTIBLE TO CYBER THREATS: ANALYSTS Bangladesh's banks remain vulnerable to cyber threats as hackers continue to target financial institutions exploiting modern technology, analysts said yesterday. Hackers attack computers worldwide every 39 seconds, according to Rubaiyyaat Aakbar, an IT expert. Banks and financial institutions are the prime targets of hackers and Bangladesh is not immune from this threat, he said. Aakbar made the comments at a workshop styled 'Cyber threat readiness for bankers' jointly organised by the Bangladesh Institute of Bank Management (BIBM) and Trans IT Solution, a local information technology firm, at the BIBM headquarters in Dhaka.

http://www.thedailystar.net/business/india-brings-no-cheer-garment-exporters-1437682


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Ransomware alone caused financial losses to the tune of $1 billion last year, he said quoting a report published by Cybersecurity Ventures, the world's leading researcher and publisher covering the global cyber economy. Damages would be far higher in the days to come due to malware, which infects computers and restricts their access to files and often threatens permanent data destruction unless a ransom is paid, Aakbar said. So, banks must take robust preparations now to face the emerging challenge. Otherwise, depositors' money will be at stake. Fazle Kabir, governor of Bangladesh Bank, said: Cybersecurity has become a concern worldwide. He said the central bank has taken a number of steps including appointing a chief IT officer and formulating a cybersecurity guideline. Banks have to be aware and take necessary measures to face this emerging challenge, he added. Bankers have to have the knowledge on cybersecurity, said Anis A Khan, managing director of Mutual Trust Bank and chairman of the Association of Bankers Bangladesh. A big attack can severely hamper Bangladesh's banking services, said Abul Kashem Md Shirin, managing director of Dutch-Bangla Bank. We have to improve the security of our data centre, he added. Toufic Ahmad Choudhury, director-general of the BIBM, Shah Md Ahsan Habib, a director of the institute, and Amirul I Chowdhury, CEO of Trans IT Solution, also spoke. Source: http://www.thedailystar.net/business/banking/banks-susceptible-cyber-threats-analysts-1437670

MILLERS, WHOLESALERS TO BLAME FOR RICE PRICE SPIRAL: USDA Millers and wholesalers have mainly pushed rice prices higher, cashing in on supply shortages owing to floods and blast attack on the recently harvested boro rice, according to the US Department of Agriculture. But some of the millers and wholesalers admitted that many of them slowed down purchasing and milling operations to let prices climb, said the agency in its Bangladesh Grain and Feed Update that was released on July 19. Flooding damaged over one million tonnes of boro rice crop across 400,000 hectares of wetlands, locally known as haor, in the northeastern regions and lowlands in nine districts, according to the USDA. The loss was aggravated by a fungi or neck blast attack on a limited area of boro rice crop in several northern and southern districts of the country, it added. Subsequently, the USDA lowered its boro rice production estimate to 17.8 million tonnes. The damage from flooding reduced harvests enough to drive the farm gate prices of paddy up 29-60 percent last year. The surge was further fuelled by some traders hoarding paddy to drive prices even higher. Despite the higher farm gate prices for paddy, farmers had small net margins after deducting losses caused by the flooding and disease. In the end, it was largely millers and wholesalers who pushed rice prices up. The USDA's report comes at a time when the prices of coarse rice, which is mostly consumed by the poor and lower middle-income people, dropped marginally from its historic high of Tk 47.30 each kilogram in June. The retail prices of coarse rice were Tk 42-45 per kilogram yesterday thanks to increased imports after reduction of import duty by the government to 10 percent from previous 28 percent. Despite the fall, coarse rice prices were 36 percent higher yesterday from a year earlier, according to data from the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh.

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Besides, the massive cutback in open market sales of rice last fiscal year fuelled price speculation. The USDA said rice prices have been increasing since August last year, and the recent aman and boro rice harvest did little to relieve the pressure: prices remain their highest in eight years. Rice prices began creeping up last year after the government hiked import duty to ensure farmers get better prices for their crops. Later, depleting stocks, particularly in public warehouses, coupled with low import caused the rice prices to remain higher. To contain the price spiral and raise stock in public warehouses, the government also started buying the staple from global market for the first time in five years. The agency said Bangladesh's rice import would rise to 1.2 million tonnes in the current fiscal year thanks to robust consumer demand, expansion of the food safety net programme, lower public stocks, and relaxed trade and financial policy. Rice imports slumped 48 percent year-on-year to 133,000 tonnes in fiscal 2016-17. Since July 1, 102,800 tonnes of the grain were imported, according to food ministry data. Source: http://www.thedailystar.net/business/millers-wholesalers-blame-rice-price-spiral-usda-1437673

FARM-SECTOR NPLS SWELL BY TK 11.16B IN FY 17 The volume of classified loans in the agricultural sector bloated by over 27 per cent or Tk 11.16 billion in the just-concluded fiscal year, dodging a close watch by the central bank. According to Bangladesh Bank (BB)'s latest statistics, the non-performing loans (NPLs) lying with farmers rose to Tk 52.41 billion in the FY 2016-17 from Tk 41.24 billion a year before. "The volume of NPLs increased mainly due to higher growth in outstanding loans in the agriculture sector," a BB senior official told the FE Sunday. The total amount of outstanding loans in the sector rose to Tk 390.47 billion in the July-June period of the FY 17 from Tk 344.77 billion in the same period of last fiscal. "We've already asked the banks for taking effective measures so that fresh loans do not turn into classified ones," said the central banker However, the share of NPLs in the outstanding loans rose to 13.42 per cent in the FY 17 from 11.96 per cent in the previous fiscal, the BB data showed. The volume of NPLs from eight state-owned banks stood at Tk 51.01 in the past FY 17 against Tk 40.13 billion in the FY 16, while the classified loans from both private commercial banks (PCBs) and foreign commercial banks (FCBs) rose to Tk 1.40 billion from Tk 1.12 billion. Meanwhile, the central bank is set to announce agricultural and rural credit policy and programme for the ongoing FY 18 Thursday (July 27). "We'll sit with eight state-owned banks on Sunday (July 30) to discuses implementation of the announced agricultural and rural credit policy," the BB official said in reply to a query. The banks are Sonali Bank Limited, Janata Bank Limited, Agrani Bank Limited, Rupali Bank Limited, BASIC Bank Limited, Bangladesh Krishi Bank (BKB), Rajshahi Krishi Unnayan Bank (RAKUB) and Bangladesh Development Bank Limited. He also said the central bank will sit with the PCBs and the FCBs in the third week of August. On the other hand, disbursement of farm credits increased by nearly 19 per cent or Tk 33.52 billion to Tk 209.99 billion in the FY 17 from Tk 176.46 billion a year before. Of Tk 209.99 billion, eight state-owned banks disbursed Tk 96.98 billion, and the remaining Tk 113 billion was handed out by the PCBs and FCBs. All banks have achieved 119.65 per cent of their annual agricultural loan-disbursement targets for FY 17, fixed at Tk 175.50 billion.

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However, the recovery of farm loans rose by 10.46 per cent or Tk 17.85 billion to Tk 188.41 billion in the FY 17 from Tk 170.56 billion in the previous fiscal. Source: http://print.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/2017/07/24/178715

DSE TURNOVER HITS ONE-MONTH LOW Stocks slipped into the red Sunday, after single-session break as turnover dipped below Tk 5.0 billion-mark after a month on the prime bourse, as investors were reluctant to make fresh stake in stocks. Dealers said the market witnessed mild correction amid thin participation as investors were mostly cautious ahead of Monetary Policy Statement (MPS) coupled with ongoing earnings declaration session. Bangladesh Bank (BB) is set to announce the MPS for the first half of the current Fiscal Year (FY) 2017-18 on July 26. "The correction was triggered by slow participation and pursuance of profit booking by the investors amid ongoing earnings session," said an analyst at a leading brokerage firm. He noted that retail investors opted for booking profit, especially issues from engineering, food & allied, power and pharmaceuticals sectors, triggering selling pressure in the market. After witnessing volatility in the first half of the trading session, later half of the session went down steadily as the risk-averse investors engaged in quick profit booking from sector specific issues, finally closing 6.87 points lower. DSEX, the prime index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), went down by 6.87 points or 0.11 per cent to settle at 5,776 over the previous session. EBL Securities, a stockbroker, said, "The first session of the week witnessed sluggishness as investors kept waiting for a better momentum in the market". The stockbroker noted that the uncertainty looming over "Monetary Policy Statement" declaration by Bangladesh Bank for FY 2017-18 is responsible for lack of participation of the investors. "Investors exerted selling pressures on stocks from cement, engineering, and food & allied sectors, contributing fall of indices," the stockbroker said. The two other indices also edged lower. The DS30 index, comprising blue chips saw a fractional loss of 0.62 point or 0.02 per cent to finish at 2,121 points. The DSE Shariah Index (DSES) shed 2.35 points or 0.17 per cent to close at 1,311. Turnover, the important indicator of the market fell to Tk 4.78 billion on the DSE, which was nearly 25 per cent lower than the previous day's Tk 6.36 billion. It was also the lowest single-day transaction since June 18, this year when turnover was Tk 4.73 billion. Engineering sector emerged as turnover leader, grabbing 17 per cent of the day's total turnover, followed by textile with 15 per cent and bank 13 per cent. According to IDLC Investment's market commentary, "The market moved to side-ways as investors opted for cautious stance. As a result, overall activities remained dull, causing total turnover to decline further". The merchant noted that of the major sectors, engineering, textile and bank contributed a total of 45 per cent of total turnover.

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IFAD Autos and Navana CNG from engineering, Paramount Textile from textile and Mercantile Bank from bank held the significant portion of respective sectoral turnover, the merchant bank added. A total number of 0.087 million trades were executed in the day's trading session with trading volume of 144.61 million securities. The total market capitalisation of the DSE also came down to Tk 3,898 billion which was Tk 3,901 billion in the previous day. Most of the major sectors posted negative performance. Engineering witnessed the highest correction of 0.28 per cent, followed by food & allied with 0.12 and NBFIs 0.10 per cent, power 0.07 per cent and pharmaceuticals 0.05 per cent. Telecommunication and bank managed to edge higher by 0.08 per cent and 0.06 per cent respectively. Losers took a modest lead over the gainers as 328 issues traded, 163 closed lower, 110 closed higher and 55 remained unchanged on the DSE trading floor. IFAD Autos topped the turnover chart with about 1.50 million shares of Tk 225 million changing hands, closely followed by Mercantile Bank, Navana CNG, LankaBangla Finance, and Ratanpur Steels. Safko Spinning was the day's highest gainer, posting a 5.96 per cent rise, while Soanrgaon Textiles was the worst loser, plunging by 5.22 per cent. The port city bourse, the Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE), also edged lower with its Selective Categories Index - CSCX - losing 19 points to settle at 10,825 points. Losers beat gainers as 132 issues closed lower, 87 closed higher and 28 remained unchanged on the CSE. The port city bourse traded 8.47 million shares and mutual fund units' worth Tk 255 million in turnover. Source: http://print.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/2017/07/24/178652

IFAD LEADS TURNOVER CHART IFAD Autos, a unit of IFAD Group, topped the premier bourse's transaction chart for the two consecutive sessions Sunday while top 10 traded companies grabbed more than 25 per cent of total turnover. Turnover, the important indicator of the market, stood at Tk 4.78 billion on the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) on the day, which was 25 per cent lower than the previous session's turnover of Tk 6.36 billion. IFAD Autos, Mercantile Bank, Navana CNG, LankaBangla Finance, Ratanpur Steels, Paramount Textile, Aman Feed, Confidence Cement, Simtex Industries and ACI Formulations were the most-active shares in terms of value on the DSE. Of them, share prices of seven companies advanced up to 2.56 per cent, two faced correction up to 0.40 per cent while one remained unchanged. According to data available with the DSE, some 1.50 million IFAD shares were traded on the day, generating a turnover of Tk 225 million, which was 4.71 per cent of the day's total turnover value. The auto mobile dealer's share price hovered between Tk 149 and Tk 152, before closing at Tk 150.10 on Sunday, registering an increase of 0.33 per cent over the previous session. It was also the highest closing price since its share trading debut on February 5, 2015.



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The company's share price traded between Tk 69.90 and Tk 153.50 in the last one year at DSE. IFAD Autos, which was listed on the Dhaka bourse in early 2015, disbursed 13 per cent cash dividend to shareholders excluding the sponsors/directors and 4.0 per cent stock dividend for all shareholders for the year ended on June 30, 2016. In 2015, the company disbursed 7.0 per cent cash and 30 per cent stock dividend. Mercantile Bank emerged as second, featuring a turnover of Tk 172 million, contributing 3.60 per cent of the day's total turnover value. The bank's share closed at Tk 23.40, advancing 0.86 per cent over the previous session. Navana CNG followed next, with shares of Tk 146 million changing hands. It was 3.06 per cent of the total turnover value. The company's share price fell 0.40 per cent to close at Tk 75.50. LankaBangla notched the fourth spot, with shares of Tk 106 million changing hands, which was 2.22 per cent of the turnover. The company's share price closed at Tk 56.40, rising 1.08 per cent. Ratanpur Steels featured a turnover of Tk 102 million which was 2.13 per cent of the day's total transaction. The company's share price rose 2.12 per cent to close at Tk 81.60 each. The turnover of Paramount Textile was Tk 97 million, capturing 2.08 per cent of the day's total value. The company's share price closed at Tk 36.10, gaining 2.56 per cent. Aman Feed featured a turnover of Tk 95 million, which was 1.98 per cent of the day's total value. The company's share price inched up by 0.25 per cent to close at Tk 80.40 each. The turnover of Confidence Cement was Tk 94 million, capturing 1.96 per cent of the day's total turnover value. The company's share price closed at Tk 158.10, remaining unchanged over the previous session. Simtex featured a turnover of Tk 92 million, which was 1.92 per cent of the day's total turnover. The company's share price shed 0.30 per cent to close at Tk 32.80 each. ACI Formulations was also included in the top ten turnover chart with shares of Tk 88 million changing hands. The company's share price closed at Tk 208, advancing 2.01 per cent over the previous session. Source: http://print.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/2017/07/24/178653

TWO COS IPO SUBSCRIPTION NEXT MONTH The initial public offering (IPO) subscription of ICB AMCL First Agrani Bank Mutual Fund and Aamra Networks will begin from August 1 and August 6 respectively, officials said. Aamra Networks: IPO subscription of Aamra Networks, which will raise a capital worth Tk 562.50 million under book building method, will begin August 6. The IPO subscription will be opened till August 16 for resident and non-resident Bangladeshis, according to the company's IPO prospectus. The securities' regulator - Bangladesh Securities & Exchange Commission (BSEC) approved the IPO proposal of Aamra Networks on June 13 to the raise the said amount. As per the regulatory approval, Aamra Networks will raise a capital worth Tk 562.50 million by floating more than 15 million ordinary shares under the book building method. ICB AMCL MF: IPO subscription of ICB AMCL First Agrani Bank Mutual Fund, a closed-end mutual fund, will begin on August 1 which will be continued till August 10 for resident and non-resident Bangladeshis. The securities' regulator approved the draft prospectus of ICB AMCL First Agrani Bank Mutual Fund on January 25. The total size of the fund is Tk 1.0 billion.



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As per the regulatory approval, of the total size of the mutual fund, Tk 500 million will come from sponsors, whereas remaining Tk 500 million will be collected through public offering. Source: http://print.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/2017/07/24/178654

INVESTORS FOR QUICK PROFIT BOOKING The Dhaka bourse Sunday closed marginally lower as major sectors declined a little bit amid investors' 'wait and see' stance ahead of announcing monetary policy for first half of the current fiscal year (FY). On the day, the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) featured a turnover below Tk 5.0 billion following investors' reduced participation in share trading. According to market insiders, selling of shares was observed in IT, ceramic, engineering and textile sectors, while buoyancy was observed in cement, mutual fund and telecom sectors during the day's session. At the end of the session, the DSE broad index DSEX closed at 5,775.59 points with a rise of 0.11 per cent or 6.87 points. The shariah-based index DSES declined 0.17 per cent or 2.35 points to close at 1,311.33, while the blue chip index DS30 went down by 0.02 per cent or 0.62 point to close at 2121.17. According to International Leasing Securities, the stock market came back to the red after a single flat session amidst shaky investors' participation. "The market opened with upbeat note, but morning optimism reversed in the later hours as the risk-averse investors engaged in quick profit booking from sector specific issues," said the International Leasing Securities. Of total issues traded, 110 advanced, 163 declined and 55 were unchanged on the premier bourse. The turnover stood at above Tk 4.77 billion which was 25 per cent less than the turnover of the previous session. Some investors adopted 'wait and see' stance to observe the post-market behaviour towards the monetary policy statement for the first half of the FY 2017-18 which will be announced on 26 July, 2017, said the International Leasing Securities. "This stance led the investors to refrain from making fresh investments which resulted in lower turnover by 25 per cent over last session." Of total turnover, above Tk 4.21 billion came from transaction of the securities of 'A' category shares, Tk 139 million from 'B' category shares, Tk 105 million from 'Z' category shares and Tk 194 million from the units of mutual funds. Among the declining sectors, engineering lost 0.3 per cent, financial institutions 0.1 per cent, fuel & power 0.1 per cent and textile 0.2 per cent. Among the gaining sectors, bank advanced 0.1 per cent, mutual fund 0.3 per cent and telecommunication 0.1 per cent. Investors' concentration was mostly on the securities of engineering sector which captured 17.80 per cent of the market turnover followed by textile 14.50 per cent, bank 12.80 per cent, pharmaceuticals & chemicals 9.40 per cent and fuel & power 8.70 per cent. IFAD Autos topped the turnover chart with a value of Tk 224 million followed by Mercantile Bank, NAVANA CNG, LankaBangla Finance and RSRM Steel. Jute Spinners, a 'Z' category company, topped the gainers chart with a rise 9.92 per cent to close at Tk 92.



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Source: http://print.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/2017/07/24/178658

DESHBANDHU TEXTILE TO SET UP RMG INDUSTRY IN UEPZ Deshbandhu Textile Mills Limited will invest US$ 53.77 million to establish a readymade garment industry in the Uttara Export Processing Zone (UEPZ), reports BSS. The local venture will produce 27.6 million pieces of denim and woven pants annually in the plant. Adviser of Deshbandhu Textile Mills Limited Brigadier General (retd) Sarwar Jahan Talikder and member (Investment Promotion) of Bangladesh Export Processing Zones Authority (BEPZA) signed an agreement in this regard on Sunday in Dhaka, said a media release. Source: http://print.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/2017/07/24/178682

BJMC INCURS TK 482CR LOSSES IN FY17 State-owned jute mills under the Bangladesh Jute Mills Corporation incurred a loss of Tk 481.90 crore in the last fiscal year 2016-2017, said textiles and jute ministry on Sunday. The overall loss, however, declined by Tk 174.91 crore in the year compared with that of the previous FY 2015-2016 when 26 government-owned jute mills had incurred a loss of Tk 656.81 crore. The information was revealed at a meeting on annual performance evaluation of the mills held at the ministrys conference room on the day. The ministry in a press release said that the BJMC identified some reasons including excess number of labourers working in the factories, fall in export of jute and jute goods, institutional incapacity and corruption for the losses. Additional number of workers is now working in the factories resulting in excess cost of the corporation in payment of salaries, it said. The export of jute goods is also declining in global market because of fall in demand creating financial crisis for the corporation. The BJMC is also unable to purchase raw jute in time due to fund crisis, said the press release. In addition, institutional incapacity and corruption are also major reasons for the continuous loss of the BJMC, it said. According to the ministry, the corporation managed to trim down its loss in the last fiscal year through reducing the number of jute purchase centres to 64 from 147. Rise in demand of jute in domestic market driving by mandatory jute packaging act also helped minimising the loss. State minister for textiles and jute Mirza Azam said that the government took various steps to make the jute sector profitable. The government has already signed three memorandums of understanding with different countries including China to modernise the years old jute mills. Source: http://www.newagebd.net/article/20389/bjmc-incurs-tk-482cr-losses-in-fy17

ORGS RELATED TO INTL TRADE FACE HUGE MANPOWER SHORTAGE Most of the international trade-related government agencies like Customs, Export Promotion Bureau and Office of the Chief Controller of Imports and Exports have been suffering from an acute shortage of human resources, according to a Bangladesh Investment Development Authority study revealed on Sunday. At a seminar on trading across border held at the BIDA office in Dhaka, the deputy director of the body Sonjoy Chakraborty presented the first draft of the study on border trading.

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There were only 14 assistant revenue officers in the Chittagong port customs. On an average 500-1000 containers have to be opened for the physical test every day at the Chittagong port and around 90 per cent of export is handled by this customs house, the report said. According to the report, around 70 per cent of import tariff, which is equal to Tk 4,00,000 million, are collected by the Chittagong Customs House but as per organogram the present strength of human resources is equivalent to an earlier period when revenue was only Tk 2,000 million. The present situation is vulnerable for the Chittagong Custom House and the office building is also very old and risky, the report observed. According to the study, against 280 posts only 98 are working in the Office of the Chief Controller of Imports and Exports. Due to the gap in coordination among the various agencies, the country fails to attain the optimum output from utilising its resources, it said. In the study, the BIDA emphasised trading across the border suggesting that more trans-border trade would encourage more foreign investment. The report suggested reducing the doing business cost and time for increasing the trans-border trade. Sonjoy said that the study was conducted based on the focus group discussion methodology using the open source data of the World Bank. The study showed that the documentary and border compliance in Bangladesh for both export and import were not satisfactory compared to other competing countries. According to the study, Bangladesh ranked 173 out of 190 countries in trading across borders index. The report said that ease of trade was one of the important factors for attracting foreign direct investment. The better index value of trading across border indicates the better environment for local and foreign investment, the report read. The appropriate management system should be adopted for the efficient outcome. As all the related departments have not simultaneously developed their automation system, the economy failed to harvest the maximum benefit of the spent resources and the comparative score is reduced for Bangladesh in the trading across the border index, though the government has taken many initiatives for the system automation, the report said. Source: http://www.newagebd.net/article/20388/orgs-related-to-intl-trade-face-huge-manpower-shortage

BB HIKES HOME LOAN LIMIT FOR NRBS Bangladesh Bank on Sunday increased debt-equity ratio to 75:25 per cent for home loan taken by non-resident Bangladeshis from the commercial banks against the previous limit of 50:50. The BB issued a circular to authorised dealer branches of all banks saying that from now on an NRB would be allowed to get 75 per cent loan from the banks against the total cost of constructing the house. The banks are allowed to disburse maximum home loan amounting to Tk 1.20 crore to an NRB. The home loans debt-equity ratio is now 70:30 per cent for the resident Bangladeshis. A BB official told New Age on Sunday that the central bank had taken the initiative to boost the inward remittance as the country had been facing a decreased trend in inflow of remittance for the last two fiscal years. The latest initiative will encourage the NRBs to remit their hard-earned money to invest in the housing sector in the country, he said. The inward remittance decreased by 14.47 per cent, or $2.16 billion, to $12.76 billion in Fiscal Year 2016-17 compared with that of $14.93 billion in FY16, according to the BB data.

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The remittance inflow stood at $15.32 billion in FY15, $14.23 billion in FY14, $14.46 billion in FY13, $12.83 billion in FY12, and $11.65 billion in FY11. Source: http://www.newagebd.net/article/20391/bb-hikes-home-loan-limit-for-nrbs - -

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